School head sues parents

MASERU — A former school principal is suing a group of parents for alleging that he had sexually harassed students at the school.

Libete Lehloa was a principal at Phohla Primary School in 2006 when parents wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education alleging that he had sexually harassed some girls at the school.

He claims that the letter damaged his good reputation.

He wants the court to order the parents to pay him M50 000 in damages.

Lehloa, who has since been fired from the Mokhotlong-based primary school, told High Court judge Justice ’Maseforo Mahase yesterday that the parents’ allegation that he had begged to have sex with his students had tarnished his reputation.

Lehloa denies that he begged to have sex with the children.

His witness, a Mokhotlong policeman called Mafereka, told the court that his respect for Lehloa diminished after he heard the allegations that he solicited sex from minors.

A parent who is also a member of the management committee, Lehlohonolo Letsoepa, testified in court that there were complaints that Lehloa wanted sex from children.

He said after several complaints the parents decided to report to the Mokhotlong senior education officer.

Letsoepa however told the court that before writing the letter they tried to meet Lehloa, the teachers and the management committee to verify the allegations but Lehloa did not turn up.

“By writing this letter we were not intending to defame the plaintiff (Lehloa) but we wrote it because the situation at the school was bad and our children were not being taught,” Letsoepa said.

“The contents of the letter were part of the day’s agenda which was never discussed because the principal bunked the meeting and we wrote the letter in his absence,” he said.

Lehloa’s lawyer is Shale Shale while Thabang Khauoe appears for the respondents.

The letter, which was copied to the Mokhotlong police and the school management committee, was written on May 29, 2006.

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